Department - Author 1
Journalism Department
Degree Name - Author 1
BS in Journalism
Date
12-2011
Primary Advisor
Dan Eller
Abstract/Summary
Journalism today is much more than a single reporter, news anchor, photographer or videographer specializing in a single skill. Journalists today need to be multimedia journalists who have skills that encompass anything from writing a story to editing video. Currently, at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), journalism students are learning these skills, but they are learning them separately. Within the three concentrations offered by the journalism department — broadcast, news/editorial and public relations — there are the three student media outlets: Central Coast PRspectives, Cal Poly TV, KCPR radio and the Mustang Daily newspaper. Few students, however, work together across these media platforms.
This paper addresses the importance for a university, such as Cal Poly, to converge student media. By utilizing a survey of current journalism students’ knowledge, a lack of shared knowledge between concentrations was discovered, as well as divisions between students in specific concentrations. A converged newsroom would create an umbrella effect that would, ultimately, encompass and unite journalism students. This paper presents convergence as a solution to eliminate this information gap, unite students across media platforms and better prepare students for a career after graduation.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/joursp/37
Included in
Broadcast and Video Studies Commons, Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Journalism Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Organizational Communication Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons